ABSOLUTE immunity only protects against +5 weapons or lower.
On a side note: Protection Against Magical Weapons is the true absolute immunity because in context someone could stab you with Godsbane and you wouldn't even feel it.
It would take ancient artifact known as Normal Average Arrow to take you down, but who could've have access to something so scarce?
It's fun to unleash fury of normal weapons on those smug mages, who think that they are invincible after casting PfMW.
The trouble with this strategy is that enemy mages always cast both PfMW *and* Protection from Normal Missiles. It seems with the high intelligence and all, they've anticipated a few contingencies.
Also, normal weapons don't work on liches just because they're liches.
In my early days of playing, I used to carry around a lot of normal weapons all the time. (Swords and maces, not arrows.) Then I discovered that the Breach spell is way more reliable and fast. (Again, in the vanilla game. SCS mages also always have Spell Immunity:Abjuration and such, or so I've heard. Mage chess has never been one of my favorite aspects of BG2, so I don't use SCS.)
I've actually seen only a handful of SCS mages use Protection from Normal Missiles alongside PFMW, even though it's a perfectly reasonable pre-buff. It's very common for BG1 mages in SCS, but BG2 mages seldom bother.
You could then use melee weapons, but Teleport Field could thwart that as well. A combination of Teleport Field, PFMW, Protection from Normal Missiles, Stoneskin, and some spell protections would make it nearly impossible to disrupt their opening spells.
Unless you're a Wizard Slayer, in which case a couple strikes with a nonmagical fly swatter would cripple the poor mage.
@BelgarathMTH - in my experience mages in BG2 tend to disregard PfNM and PfNW in general, even with SCS pre-buffs. That discovery make dread Mantle spells, because they force to use magics against their counter-measures, and this is always tedious process. However! Usually you are able to hit mage at least once before contingencies trigger, and it can work wonders with Blackguard (Poison Weapon) or rebalanced Wizard Slayer. But there are liches, who always force into war of attrition unless you manage to get them with Daystar, Mace of Disruption, or have access to Spellstrike.
Generally speaking, I prefer to exploit that magical oversight than relay on Breaches and other spells, when dealing with SCS mages.
SCS mages usually use Improved Mantle in early BG2 before progressing to PFMW in the later stages of the game, until PFMW becomes nearly ubiquitous in ToB. Yuan-ti Mages use PFMW and the lesser Mantle spell, while Mekrath and a very small number of low-level mages use Protection from Normal Weapons.
It's much more optimal this way, because SCS also buffs Mantle and Improved Mantle so that only +4 and +5 weapons can bypass them, respectively, which means you have almost no means of bypassing weapon immunities until very late in the game: the only +5 weapons that are available before Chapter 6 or without fighting really dangerous enemies like Firkraag or the Twisted Rune are the darts from the Cloak of Stars.
Dragon Age Awakenings, when the Warden frees Stephan in the old Dwarven thaig Kal'Hirol, that got overrun by darkspawn, who captured Stephan and put him in a cage:
Stefan: "I sneaked in past the darkspawn to see if there's any treasure"
Sigrun; "You thief, what you have belongs to the dwarven people"
meanwhile Sigrun doesn't raise any objection when the party of the Warden with her in it loots all the chests in Kal'Hirol
Shadow thieves: Pay us 15.000 gold, do us some illegal favors and wipe out our undead rivals in the Athkatlan underworld. In exchange we will give you some stuff, put you on a ship and not much else. A fair trade! Though I guess that's more mafia logic... But even Al Capone wouldn't have asked some new guy in town to pay him thousands of dollars and then kill every single member of the North side gang.
"15 000?! We could almost buy our own ship for that!" "But who's gonna sail it, kid? You?"
Aldeth Sashenstar logic: Being pursued by druids, he hangs around in Cloakwood until a group of adventurers happen to come by and speak to him, instead of getting back to the safety of the city and hiring somebody to solve his druid problem for him.
Dabron Sashenstar logic: Knows you killed his brother in Cloakwood when he has no earthly way of knowing that Aldeth is dead, or how he died. I mean, did a rabbit travel from the forest to Baldur's Gate to tell him?
In his defense, the gates are closed so aldeth cannot get into baldurs gate. He could travel to some smaller hovel like Beregost or the Friendly Arm Inn but will he find the kind of help he needs... At this point he is just protecting his lodge and you happen to walk by.
ah, good ol' gold piece runs, i usually have over 20 000 the time i hit nashkiel mines at level 1 (and that is without selling the ring of wizardry )
speaking about inventory.....
can somehow hold SIXTEEN ankheg shells in back pack, but not SEVENTEEN daggers, and 700 000 gold pieces, ah no sweat, just keep that in the back pocket ya know?
ah, good ol' gold piece runs, i usually have over 20 000 the time i hit nashkiel mines at level 1 (and that is without selling the ring of wizardry )
speaking about inventory.....
can somehow hold SIXTEEN ankheg shells in back pack, but not SEVENTEEN daggers, and 700 000 gold pieces, ah no sweat, just keep that in the back pocket ya know?
You can hold all that and more if you just use your 'Ferret of Holding'. You can hold your ferret in your backpack while IT'S holding 16 ankheg shells! Ferrets must have some kind of extra-dimensional pouch...
There's actually a mod that makes ankheg shells stackable. If you combine that with the quick loot feature, you can drop all the shells and then collect them at a distance, allowing even a solo character with low Strength to carry them from the farm to Beregost.
But then, there's also a mod that adds a Bag of Holding to Thalantyr's store.
@semiticgod Thanks for the 800th comment on this thread
Thalantyr: Why did you break into my house? Party: We wanted to buy some stuff Thalantyr: Well normally I would kill intruders, but I'm in a giving mood.
Five minutes later, party returns Thalantyr: Why did you break into my house?
@semiticgod Thanks for the 800th comment on this thread
Thalantyr: Why did you break into my house? Party: We wanted to buy some stuff Thalantyr: Well normally I would kill intruders, but I'm in a giving mood.
Five minutes later, party returns Thalantyr: Why did you break into my house?
I don't know about my other charnames but there is no way that Zaram would have the patience to invest in something as complicated and time consuming as Bitcoin
Sorviz Narro (CE Elven Necromancer I've created but haven't played yet who is hellbent on total annihilation) on the other hand......
These exist. Watch any mom in public when she needs something from her purse. IIRC, this is how physicists found the first proof that there are more than three spatial dimensions.
I swear, the other day I saw a lady with a purse that was about 12" x 8" reach in and pull out a transmission for a 1953 Cadillac sedan.
Comments
Also, normal weapons don't work on liches just because they're liches.
In my early days of playing, I used to carry around a lot of normal weapons all the time. (Swords and maces, not arrows.) Then I discovered that the Breach spell is way more reliable and fast. (Again, in the vanilla game. SCS mages also always have Spell Immunity:Abjuration and such, or so I've heard. Mage chess has never been one of my favorite aspects of BG2, so I don't use SCS.)
You could then use melee weapons, but Teleport Field could thwart that as well. A combination of Teleport Field, PFMW, Protection from Normal Missiles, Stoneskin, and some spell protections would make it nearly impossible to disrupt their opening spells.
Unless you're a Wizard Slayer, in which case a couple strikes with a nonmagical fly swatter would cripple the poor mage.
However! Usually you are able to hit mage at least once before contingencies trigger, and it can work wonders with Blackguard (Poison Weapon) or rebalanced Wizard Slayer.
But there are liches, who always force into war of attrition unless you manage to get them with Daystar, Mace of Disruption, or have access to Spellstrike.
Generally speaking, I prefer to exploit that magical oversight than relay on Breaches and other spells, when dealing with SCS mages.
It's much more optimal this way, because SCS also buffs Mantle and Improved Mantle so that only +4 and +5 weapons can bypass them, respectively, which means you have almost no means of bypassing weapon immunities until very late in the game: the only +5 weapons that are available before Chapter 6 or without fighting really dangerous enemies like Firkraag or the Twisted Rune are the darts from the Cloak of Stars.
Edwin Logic:
Has low wisdom
Still solves the Spectator problem for you in the City of Caverns.
And that my friends is just one of the many reasons I love Edwin so much (even though I haven't had him as a party member in years)
hey i want you to join my group
okay, but it will cost you money
okay... here you go....
excellent i will join ( joins group )
so what happened with that money i gave you?
Dragon Age Awakenings, when the Warden frees Stephan in the old Dwarven thaig Kal'Hirol, that got overrun by darkspawn, who captured Stephan and put him in a cage:
Stefan: "I sneaked in past the darkspawn to see if there's any treasure"
Sigrun; "You thief, what you have belongs to the dwarven people"
meanwhile Sigrun doesn't raise any objection when the party of the Warden with her in it loots all the chests in Kal'Hirol
"But who's gonna sail it, kid? You?"
Dabron Sashenstar logic: Knows you killed his brother in Cloakwood when he has no earthly way of knowing that Aldeth is dead, or how he died. I mean, did a rabbit travel from the forest to Baldur's Gate to tell him?
Time taken by CHARNAME's party to accumulate 680 GP with no risk whatsoever at level 1: Less than one day.
How?
Shade Lord Logic:
Party curbstomps Dragon
Party: Your reign ends here
Shade Lord: ...
Party: ....
Shade Lord: Bravado, of course.
And a Dagger +1 on the Barracks.
That should give you more than 1500 gp to be honest.
Wow you're right I completely forgot about those.
speaking about inventory.....
can somehow hold SIXTEEN ankheg shells in back pack,
but not SEVENTEEN daggers,
and 700 000 gold pieces, ah no sweat, just keep that in the back pocket ya know?
@sarevok57
Never leave home without it :P
But then, there's also a mod that adds a Bag of Holding to Thalantyr's store.
Thanks for the 800th comment on this thread
Thalantyr: Why did you break into my house?
Party: We wanted to buy some stuff
Thalantyr: Well normally I would kill intruders, but I'm in a giving mood.
Five minutes later, party returns
Thalantyr: Why did you break into my house?
Sorviz Narro (CE Elven Necromancer I've created but haven't played yet who is hellbent on total annihilation) on the other hand......
I swear, the other day I saw a lady with a purse that was about 12" x 8" reach in and pull out a transmission for a 1953 Cadillac sedan.